Strange Encounters
by silk1
Summary: My inevitable FireflyAngelBtVS Cross-Over......could be fun I think! NEW CHAPTER ADDED!
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: I don´t own any of these Characters, they all belong to the brilliant Joss Whedon and different TV- Stations !

Please don´t sue me ……I don´t have anything worth suing for, believe me!!

Notes:  The Character of Alice is my own creation, so here goes my inevitable Crossover, hope you enjoy it!

 Strange Encounters

" Why can´t things ever go smooth?" Captain Malcolm Reynolds asked himself for what had to be the hundredth time in the past hour. And why ..if he indeed was the Captain of Serenity, did most crew members do as they pleased   as soon as the ship sat down on a planet?

Kaylee was supposed to be back an hour ago …..he knew he shouldn´t have let her wander off alone, but the mechanic had insisted. He replayed the moment in his mind….little Kaylee stomping her foot. 

" I´m not a little girl captain, I can buy the spare parts on my own! Don´t need anyone lookin´over my shoulder!"

Kaylee knew she was late. She hurried through the darkening streets towards the docks. The town they had landed in was still rough, ebven though it was theoretically alliance terretory.

Captain would be mightily pissed off, but once she showed him the new accelorator-bolts……once she told Mal what a grand bargain she had struck on some of the parts, all would be forgiven. He´d make a face, but Kaylee knew that Mal could never be really mad at her.

The Backpack that held the new parts was getting heavier with every step she took. 

She grit her teeth, suddenly feeling very stupid for insisting to go alone. She should Have listened to Zoe and Mal and taken Jayne to do the heavy lifting. She had known that some of the parts she had bought for Serenity´s engine were very heavy, even if they were not too big. Now this weight slowed her down.

" Aw …no!" Kaylee whispered annoyed, looking around her. This was not the way back to the ship! She must have taken a wrong turn some way back and wandered off into this alley accidentally.

Kaylee heard footsteps behind her and turned around. Her eyes fell onto three burly figures, crowding the alley behind her.

" Uh…oh.." she breathed, an uncomfortable feeling creeping up her spine as they approached her.

" Such a pretty little girl…." One of them said with an unpleasant rasp in his voice.

Kaylee looked around, there was no other way out of the there, the alley was a dead end. 

" Gosa!" she cursed. 

This was exactly one of the scenarios Mal had warned her about……..one that she had shrugged off. Jayne would come in really handy now, apart from carrying the heavy load, Kaylee thought as she retreated further. 

The hairs on the back of her neck started to tingle while the three men slowly started to move in on her. There was something wrong with them, Kaylee could feel it …….she let out a muffled shreak. They had started to encircle her and she could see that their eyes were bright yellow.

" Watcha´doin all alone out here?" One of them asked her maliciously " Didn´t your momma warn you not to run lose after dark?"  

Kaylee stepped back as far as she could, then her backpack collided with the wall behind her. No way to run ….

In mute terror Kaylee stared into those glowing eyes………She could not move, there was nowhere to go .

One of her attackers was about to grab her face when a small hand caught a hold of his wrist out of nowhere, stopping him in mid-air. With an irritated grunt he turned away from Kaylee.

" Now let´s see …." 

A clear, girly voice peeped up from somewhere Kaylee could not see. 

" My momma always warned me about those dangerous, shady figures that lurk around in dark alleys, but then again…"

The three yellow- eyed men turned around to find a petite female standing directly behind them. Kaylee let out a surpised sigh when she saw that the girl still held her attacker´s wrist in a tight grip, pressing his arm down with a lot more strength than one would expect  such a small person to posess. 

 The girl continued unpertubed " …..my mother also told stories about a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow and the toothfairy and all kinds of other things that were not true."

The three men stared at her, completely bewildered and perplexed.

" Actually.." another voice cut in from the shadow of a building to Kaylee´s right. " ….the tooth-fairy does exist!"

The voice was dark, rich and undoubtedly male, with a velvety undertone that betrayed the slightest hint of amusement. The sound made Kaylee shiver, despite her situation.

The girl didn´t seem to be too impressed though, she looked over her shoulder, quite obviously annoyed.

" Your point being?"

" Nothing , just that…"

" Oh for heaven´s sake! Will you just shut up and let her speak her piece? ",  yet another voice interrupted. 

All heads turned towards the entrance of the alley, where a tall, slim figure was busy lighting a cigarette.

" Let her get to the bloody punchline, so we can dust these blokes and save the damsel in distress!" he chided impatiently. 

The newcomer spoke with an accent that reminded Kaylee of Badger. By now the pretty mechanic was more confused than scared…..who were all these people? She couldn´t really see any of them very clearly due to the darkness of the tiny side-street.

" I´m assuming there was a punchline?" the first man said, sighing.

The girl shot Kaylee an exasperrated look, rolling her eyes apologetically. 

" Never mind! Y ou guys ruined it, as usual…!"

" Good…." 

Kaylee could see the other man walking towards them.

 " Can we get to the killin´then?"

While the three of them were squabbling, the yellow eyed thugs had stood by….. ignored and obviously confused. Now  Kaylee´s attackers suddenly snapped back to life.  One of them throwing an enourmous punch at the girl´s face. 

" Watch out! Kaylee yelled, but it was already too late. The man moved with a speed that Kaylee had never seen before, not even in Zoe or Jayne. His fist connected with the girl´s jawline in a sickening sound, but to her surprise the girl did not topple over from the impact. Her head snapped back in one smooth motion, her eyes ablaze as they fixed on her assailant. She wiped the blood off her split lip with the back of her hand.

" Now …." She said coldly.." That was not very nice of you. Didn´t you momma teach you not to hit little girls?"

" Shouldn´t have done that mate, made her real angry!" 

" She´s right, you know. " 

For the first time Kaylee was able to get a glimpse of the third man, who had been standing in the shadow of the tall building opposite to them. He had been shrouded in darkness due to the fact that his clothing was all black. 

" That´s no way to treat a lady!"

One of the attackers looked up, than stared at the girl. 

" Oh no …" Kaylee heard him whisper, his head jerking around as though he was suddely the one to look for a way out. 

" You ….You are her, aren´t ya?" 

His two companions stared at the girl, mouths agape.

" In the flesh, dustboy!" she answered mockingly. 

What then followed was so surreal that Kaylee could have sworn it was a dream.  The whole fight took about two minutes. In front of Kaylee´s unbelieving eyes her attackers exploded in clouds of dust.

The girl coughed, padding herself in order to get the dust off her clothes. She walked up to Kaylee, extending a hand.

" Hi….my name´s Alice. Are you ok?"

As she stepped closer Kaylee´s eyes fell on her face. She gasped in utter amazement. The girl had the most beautiful face Kaylee had ever seen. She could not rival Inara´s exquisite beauty of course. It was not that kind of beauty…not well groomed and cared for, it was more wild and effortless. A mass of unruly auburn curles framed a face that Kaylee had so far only seen on the statues of angels or saints. 

A pair of dark, brown eyes, shadowed by thick black lashes, met hers. There was a fire in those eyes that Kaylee had seen in Jayne and Zoe before a fight, but also sadness and grief that she sometimes spied in the captain´s eyes, when he thought that noone was paying attention.

" Hey ..you ok?" the man with the funny accent repeated the girl´s question, lighting another cigarette. His hair was platinum blond, almost white and his bright blue eyes fixed on Kaylee in mild interest.

" Fine …I think." Kaylee finally answered. 

" That …that was amazing, how´d you do that?"

" Oh, years of practice.." the girl giggled. " Glad we could lend a hand!"

" Practice? That must be really sumthin´. I ´ve never seen anything like that! I don´t even think Zoe or the captain could pull off such a fight and where did these yellow- eyed fellas come from?"

The girl ´s brow creased up. Behind her Kaylee could see the third man shouldering what seemed to be a heavy chest and a big, old leatherpouch before he walked over to them. He was taller than the blond men, with broader shoulders and a broader chest. Despite his heavy load he moved gracefully, nodding a silent greeting to Kaylee, before his eyes focused on Alice. The blond man stood a few yards away, smoking his cigaretty. His whole demeanor reminded the mechanic of a dangerous yet playful wildcat.

" Captain? " the girl asked " You work on a ship?"

Kaylee tore her eyes away from the two men. 

" A mighty fine one! Serenity, I´m the mechanic!" she answered, unable to surpress the pride and exitement in her voice. 

" Take on passengers?"

I know, I know ………sigh. Give me some time, this IS going somewhere I promise!!!


	2. Getting to know you

DISCLAIMER: I don´t own these characters, I only play with them …

Notes: Please let me know if you like it, it´s still a little edgy, I know   ( cringe)  but I do my best!

Getting to know you

Mal was not entirely sure if he liked the recent developments. They had been ready to go out and look for Kaylee when she had finally arrived with three strangers in tow. Now these strangers stood in the middle of cargo bay, looking around. Mal could tell they were assessing the surroundings, looking for exit ways and other important strategic points. It would be the exact same thing he would have done…..

While Zoe and Jayne kept a watchful eye on the newcomers, Mal listened to the outrageous story Kaylee was telling him about how the girl and her two companions had saved her. To be honest , Mal had a little trouble following the story that included three yellow-eyed creatures that exploded into clouds of dust……

" Come again?" he asked his mechanic bemused, all the while wondering if these people could have drugged her. It was not just the story she was repeating to him for the third time in the last twenty minutes, but also her excited giddiness that seemed odd.

" Oh Captain ..I said that she fought with these guys and …I don´t really know what she did exactly , ´cause it was so dark , but she must´ve stuck ´em with somethin´…and they shrieked and just went …puff! And then I told her about Serenity and Alice told me that they were looking for a ship. Great coincidence, Ha? And she made the blond guy carry the heavy backpack with the new accelerator-bolts …so that we could have a nice girl- talk ….a real girly girl-talk captain ……Ohh ..the new parts …I struck quite a bargain …"

" So you told these people you don´t know that we would take on passengers?"

Kaylee stopped talking, staring at Mal. 

" Sure…"

" Well we don´t!" he told her 

" What …but why, they´re really nice and they can pay!"

" I don´t like ´em, that´s why!" Mal explained with another look at the three of them. 

They were all wearing dark clothing, heavy coats with big hoods. The girl was extraordinarily pretty, with long auburn hair and fine features. She wore tight leatherpants, kind of like the ones Zoe wore sometimes, and a tight, midriff -baring  shirt, that showed off a slim, yet curvaceous figure. Mal took her to be no older than River. 

The two men, now that was a whole different thing. He could see from the way they moved that they were strong, most likely fighters. There was something about them, their pale skin, the way their eyes shone ……..something Mal did not like. 

" But captain …"

" Is that wise, sir?" Zoe cut in smoothly, giving Mal a doubting look.

" We have no cargo…"

" And no job-offer to speak of!" Jayne growled.

" We could sure use the fare!" 

Mal stared sat them, annoyed.

" Did you two hear the story Kaylee just told? With the yellow-eyes and people going – puff? For all we know these people are on the run from the alliance!"

" Oh right and we don´t take on fugitives, ha?" Kaylee challenged him.

Alice knew that her two companions had been following the conversation that went on  on the catwalk above them. So she had simply tried to relax and wait for the captain´s verdict, but she was getting an eerie feeling. Slowly she turned around, squinting out of the still open cargo-ramp into the dark. Out of the corner of her eye she had seen something moving.

" Damn it!" she whispered to herself.

" Oh hey ….ahhh , don't wanna interrupt or anything, but maybe it would be a good idea to close that access ramp now!" she yelled at the captain. 

He turned around to face her, an impatient look on his good-looking face. Had the occasion been a bit different Alice would have definitely considered giving him a wink…..

" Yeah , that´s a good idea…once we have decided if you can stay…"

" What´s wrong, love?" 

Alice shook her head, shouldn´t he feel it too?

" We got company…" Mal heard the taller man with the dark hair mutter mere seconds before two figures emerged from the darkness, stepping onto the ramp.

" Slayer…" one of them said with a nasty lisp.

Mal blinked a few times to make sure that his eyes or maybe the light didn´t play tricks on him, but the picture his eyes were showing him did not change. The two men were very tall and robust….and they had those bright yellow-eyes Kaylee had told him about. But that was not all, in the lights of the cargo-bay Mal could see that there was something wrong with their faces…..they seemed strangely contorted or deformed. They look liked creatures from a nightmare.

Mal shot a look at Zoe, who stared back at him.

" I heard a slayer was here on Rubicon.." the creature with the lisp continued, leering at the young woman. " Couldn´t believe it, but it seems as though you had a run-in with some of my associates earlier. So you coma to my town and don´t even pay your respects to me ….I´m heartbroken!"

" See Captain …I told you there…"

" Kaylee……no talking now, ok?" Mal hushed her up quietly, before putting a hand on the gun Jayne had pointed on the intruders. Signaling the mercenary to lower his weapon.

" We don´t have trouble with these people and I got a feelin´ that we don´t want to …..let´s see how this plays out."  

Alice threw a look over her shoulder to measure the reaction on the catwalk. She could see that the captain was waiting for something and smiled grimly. He was right, she´d give him that. This was not his problem. She and her companions had brought this on them and she would be the one to take care of it.

" Respect.." she said loud and clear, shrugging of her coat.

" There´s a funny thing, you see…cause my daddy taught me that respect is not a thing you have a right to, respect needs to be earned."

Mal could see the dark haired man coming up from behind her while the blond one snickered, shaking his head. 

The girl shot both of them an angry look. 

" Stay back." She hissed .

" I´ll take care of this."

" Ally …" 

" I said I´ll take care of it!"

The blond man nodded his assent, turning his head towards the catwalk where Mal was standing.

" Putting on a little show…." He muttered to his companion before he leaned against one of the crates in cargo- bay to observe. 

The dar haired man shook his head warningly, but complied too.

If the girl was scared it didn´t show. 

" I beg your pardon….maybe I should introduce myself." The creature said with a sneer.

" My name is Davlok and I´m ….."

" Don´t care who you are, never heard of you anyway. It´s all the same to me, so why don´t we cut through the niceties and get it over with?"

Zoe lifted an eyebrow at Mal, he could tell from her look that she liked the girl´s attitude. Jayne started grinning.

" Very well…" Davlok lisped.

" I heard a slayer´s blood is the sweetest….".

There was something like a sigh going through the three of them, but later Mal wasn´t sure if he had seen it right. He could have sworn that the two men exchanged uncomfortable looks, while the girl tried to catch their reaction. What the talk about the blood was about, Mal had no idea……

" Maybe, but you´ll never find out. So you´d better leave now or …"

" Or what?" 

" I´ll kill you, both of you …..you and your not very talkative henchman!"

Davlok laughed.

" Is that right, well we´ll have to see about that …"

Suddenly the second men, the one Alice had referred to as the henchman, jumped forward with a speed that surprised Mal. He didn´t even see Alice make her move, from the catwalk it looked like she had punched him firmly in the gut. But her small hand disappeared in a blur and when it reappeared it was covered in blood.

The henchman stared at her for a second, there was no pain in his face, only complete confusion. Then she punched him once more, this time to the chest……Mal could see there was something in her hand this time that looked like a wooden stake ……

He heard in shriek and in front of his eyes the henchman combusted into a cloud of smoke.

" Did y ´all just see that…." Jayne asked, a baffled expression on his face.

" See …I told you.." Kaylee cut in.

Alice took a step forward towards Davlok. He grinned, trying to circle her like a lion would it´s prey. Then he rushed in, throwing an enormous strike at her face. It never reached the girl. Her small hand caught his fist mere inches from her face, pressing his arm down, at the same time gripping his other wrist with her free hand. 

"  You could have just left , but no …" she told him through gritted teeth.

" I´ll get you slayer…" he spat at her. 

Alice made a disgusted face. She had enough of this.

Deliberatly she started squeezing his hand until he winced. Then she pushed him off her, whirling around to deliver two swift kicks to his head and abdomen. Mal could hear the breastbones crack. She pulled another stake out of her sleeve and buried it in his chest. Still reaching for her throat Davlok turned into smoke and flame.

" Is it just me or are these guys getting dumber the closer one gets to the Core?" she asked aloud, while the blond man snickered again.

" What the hell was that?" Mal yelled at them from above.

" Watcha´mean mate?" 

" Well the …everything!"

Alice sighed. The turmoil had obviously attracted the rest of the ship´s crew, since she could see several other people gathering on the catwalk overlooking the cargo-bay.

There was an incredibly beautiful woman in fine clothing, a young man of similar descent, an older man who from the look of it seemed to be a priest and a young girl in a wide flowing dress and haunted eyes. 

" Well I might as well tell ´ya because you´re gonna find out  anyway if you take us on as passengers.." she shrugged. 

" Ally…." The dark haired man tried to interrupt her.

" What…you think we won´t have to explain about your eating habits and the stuff you carry around in that portable cooling-unit?" 

He groaned.

" So….." Mal asked, still not at terms with what he had just witnessed.  

" Who the hell are you?"

" This is Angel!" she introduced the dark-haired, handsome man to her right, who shot the assembly on the catwalk a short look and nodded.

" And the other one is Spike." The blond man stepped up next to her, waving at them with a half-hearted grin.

" My name is Alice .." she finally said, " the Vampire- Slayer."

Mal´s eyebrows shot up, almost connecting with his airline. 

" The what ?"

" Vampire-Slayer.." Spike repeated with a grin.

 " You´ll get used to it, has a nice ring to it too, just keep repeatin´ it for a couple of times."

" What the hell is a Vampire- slayer?"

" Like a Dragon-slayer?" Jayne asked amused.

" Sir, I think you just saw what she does …" Zoe said lifting her own eyebrows.

Suddenly the dark haired girl in the dress stepped forward, leaning over the railing to get a closer look. 

" In every generation there is a chosen one. One girl in all the world to stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer." She recited in an eerie voice.

Alive smiled at her surprised.

" That´s about right." She answered, while everybody stared at the girl. River smiled back at her before she turned around to the captain. 

" She is good, fights evil. She should stay." She stated simply, then she turned around to leave.

Mal stared after her. Now he had seen his share of freaky things in his life, but today's events definitely blew the top off of that. Somehow he had a feeling that nothing would go smooth with these weird people as passengers.

On the other hand, Zoe was right they could use the fare! And it seemed as though these were passengers that he would not have to look after, they could quite obviously take care of themselves. And that vampire thing, noe he did not believe in vampires or demons ……but he did not believe in readers either, and some of the things River said and did had taught him to rethink that assessment. 

" Well taking…. the three of you along, won´t come cheap, even though you saved our little Kayleer here." He told them.

Alice gave him an amused look, before she pulled a little pouch filled with hard currency out of her coat and threw it to him.

" Don´t worry captain, we can pay. Didn´t think you looked much like the space-version of Robin Hood and his merry band of outlaws." 

Her eyes flew over the assembly again.

" Well ..maybe outlaws but right now you don´t look very merry to me!"

Mal could hear a stifled giggle from Inara. 

" Come on up ……Kaylee will show you around. I got a feeling we might wanna get off of this rock, before more of your weird friends show up." 


	3. Up Close and personal

DISCLAIMER : See first chapter ..I don´t own shit!

Notes: Thanx for the feedback ..here we go!

 Up close and personal

They were vampires, but good ones, Alice had been quick to point out. Normal vampires didn´t have a soul, the two had ……although her stating this so openly to the crew seemed to make both men uncomfortable. They were fighting the good fight, she had said. Mal didn´t really care as long as they did not think about the crew as a snack……

The quarters they had given to the girl and the two vampires seemed to suffice.

 So far the two men had been staying in their bunk, if they were sleeping or doing  anything at all……Mal couldn´t tell.

So far Mal had not enquired about the contents of the portable cooling device. He had his own ideas about that, not quite sure if he wanted to know whether he was right or wrong.

Kaylee had spent the whole day asking Alice a million questions about the three of them, where they had been, the places they had seen……..

Alice had seemed to enjoy just spending time with a girl her own age. They were on their way to an old friend of the darker, broodier vampire, but apart from that Mal couldn´t tell if they had a hidden agenda.

He was quite surprised to find Alice alone in the middle of the night, sitting in the dark mass.

„Can´t sleep?"  Mal said, sitting down at the table opposite to her. 

She cradled her mug of steaming tea in her lap, looking at him.

" No …..comes with the territory ."

"Nightmares, ha?"

From the way she smiled sadly,  he knew she could tell he had a few of those himself.

" Yeah….. Amongst other things. I need some time for me sometimes …"

Mal nodded, taking a sip of his own tea.

" The guys are very protective of you. Seems weird to me, judging from the things I´ve seen you do."

" They try to help…"

Mal leaned forward, putting his mug down on the table.

" So what´s the deal with the three of you, if you don´t mind me askin´? Where did you find these guys….vampires with a soul. Don´t think you can pick´em up on a street- corner."

Alice rolled her eyes, sighing.

" See…that´s the thing. I did not look for them, nor did I find them ……they found me and now , well you´ve seen how they are……..They are not very big in the leaving again department. Mighty helpful though. Don´t think I´d still be alive if it weren´t for them, had a close call right before they found me, saved my life!"

Mal had figured that they were fighters, but he wasn´t sure.

" So they are any good…in a fight I mean?"

Alice laughed.

" Oh yeah, as good as they come, my daddy would say."

Mal lifted an eyebrow at her.

" So what´s their story? Seems there is a bit of tension between those two."

Alice bit her lip, placing her mug next to Mal´s. 

" Please take my advice on this, ok? Do yourself a favour and don´t ask them. Now Angel is not much of a talker when it comes to all his personal stuff, but once you get Spike to spill the beans, Angel will jump right in there in order to put some things straight and then you´ll never hear the end of it! It´s a really long story and I´ve heard it more times then I cared to…..really, really long, like epic long if you catch my drift?  We are talking centuries here!"

Mal laughed out loud. 

" Short version?"

" It´s about a girl." She said simply. 

Mal lifted his brows.

" Must be some girl…."

" She´s dead." Alice finally elaborated.

" She´s been dead for centuries. I don´t know the whole story, it´s like …..it still hurts when they mention her, there´s almost a physical quality to it. She was a slayer like me back on earth that was. Maybe the best there ever was."

Mal took another sip of his tea before it got too cold and shot Alice another enquiring glance.

" So …..she got killed in the line of duty so to speak?"

Alice smiled sadly, shaking her head.

" No ….she died an old woman. She died in peace surrounded by a big, loving family. It think that was the hard part about it. They loved her so much ….Angel once lost his soul for her, Spike even went through a bunch of trials to get his back ….they would have done anything for her. And so they did …..they let her have a life. She wasn´t immortal, she was human despite all the strength that comes with the calling. They just ..stepped back and let her be happy. Angel rarely talks about it, but Spike told me that ….they still watched her from a distance. Watched her get married, become a mother, a grandmother …..it must have been excruciating. It takes a lot of love to just let someone go ……a lot of devotion."

Mal nodded solemly.

" So why are they running with you now?"

Alice shrugged.

" It´s their mission …..help out the slayer, train the slayer. Back on earth that was they had watcher´s for that. But something …..happened, changed all that. Now there is just them.

I think they´re doing it for her ……they still love her."

" That´s some devotion!" Mal commented.

" Love is not love which alters where it alteration finds,

 or bends with the remover to remove.

Oh no, it is an ever fixed mark 

That looks on tempests but is never shaken,

That is a star to every wandrin´ bark;

Whose worth´s unknown although his height be taken.

Love´s not time´s fool ,

Though rosy cheeks and lips into his bending sickle's compass come.

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved …."

" …I never writ nor no man ever loved." Mal cut in.

Alice nodded, obviously  amazed.

" You know your Shakespeare."

" I know a little!"

Mall answered evasively , growing a little uncomfortable. He barely knew this girl and yet she had shared a lot with him already. It must have shown in his face, because Alice gave a little laugh.

" Sorry, Captain …..it´s not that I´m a blabbermouth but…..it´s good to talk to someone else once in a while."

Now that was something Mal could relate to …..

" So lemme ask you something else."

Alice nodded for him to go ahead.

" Why do you do this? As far as I catch this whole slayer deal, there seems to be no payment involved. So how did a pretty little girl like you get into all this trouble?"

Alice tugged a loose strand of her auburn hair behind her ear and smiled sadly.

" This trouble you speak of is nothing you sign up for voluntarily…..you are chosen. There was a time when there used to be a lot of us….slayers, I mean. A whole lot of us  ….from what I´ve heard the guys say…….back then on earth that was. I don't know if there still are others than me, if there are I´d like to meet them…the others. But so far I haven´t found any of them ……right now there is only me. You cannot buy or bargain your way out of it. I am the chosen one, it´s as simple as that. Not a thing I or anyone else could do about it!"

Mal wrinkled up his brow.

" What if you´d just said ….No thank you, I don´t care much for bein´ chosen, choose somebody else!"

" You can´t escape your fate." Alice returned matter-of-factly. Something told Mal that she spoke from experience, which made him scowl. 

" You can´t tell me that hasn´t happened before! I don´t believe much in fate …..I choose my own and you should get to do that too. It´s your choice after all! You could just stop and walk away."

Alicia shook her head. She liked what he was trying to do, but she had been down that road before. She had scars on her wrists that proved how much she had wanted to get out ……and she had two men on her heels already, trying to protect and save her no matter what. 

" I don´t really know if that has happened before, I suppose it could´ve…..

It´s like I said, this is not something you can run from. It´s my destiny, there is no way to outrun it. No matter how far I travel or how long I run, it will catch up to me in the end. 

And suppose I do turn away, if I am not there…who will step up? There is only me until the day I die. That´s when this will end. When I´m dead there will be a new slayer."

" There has to be some king of back-up plan.."

Alice laughed resentfully.

" That is the back-up plan! I die, a new slayer will rise, another girl will be chosen. There has always been a slayer, there will always be a slayer……I´m just one bond in a very long line." 

Mal frowned. 

" That sound like a mighty tough deal for a young girl to handle…."

Alice looked at him, smiling.

" I can handle myself!"

Mal laughed.

" Oh …I´ve seen that! So why are you looking for this guy, this friend of …."

" Angel´s friend? He is supposed to help us ….he knows things about people. His name is Lorne. He is supposed to help me find my way…or our way…I don´t know. Angel always starts to snicker every time I ask him how this Lorne is able to do that…."


	4. Q & A

 DISCLAIMER: I own neither Firefly, nor Angel or Spike ...please Don´t sue! All belongs to Joss!!!!

NOTES: 

Thanx for the Feedback …this is a small interlude  ……

Q&A

„ Come on , Alice! Don´t let him get away with that!" 

Mal could hear the dark haired vampire yell from the catwalk.

" And Spike, quit playing around …..you´re supposed to be training her!"

Alice and Spike were sparring in the cargo bay beneath him, both breathing heavily, covered in sweat.

Mal joined Angel who was watching the two of them with narrowed eyes. Down in the bay Jayne and Book had stopped their daily work out of lifting weights. Their eyes following the young girl and the slender vampire as they exchanged blows and kicks in what seemed to be a perfectly balanced dance.

Angel crossed his arms in front, scowling.

" They are not taking this serious enough!" he mumbled.

Mal lifted an eyebrow at him.

" Looks pretty serious to me ….." he said. Spike´s fist hit the girl´s face with a sickening thud, the impact hurling her to the floor. Mal could see blood running from the edge of her mouth, but the vampire was already charging her again. 

There was an almost inaudible sigh from the opposite site of the catwalk, were River had suddenly appeared. Her eyes were bright, seemingly not missing a thing. It took Mal a moment to realize, that she was not sighing but whispering ….repeating one word over and over again…….Slayer.

The sound of a loud crash brought his attention back to the cargo bay, where Alice had managed to slam Spike into the wall by some trick of acrobacy that his eyes had obviously missed.

Malcolm Reynolds let out a low hiss. He had seen her fighting before, but the way these two went at it under Angel´s scrutinizing gaze was just not human ….

" I didn´t even see how she did that. Is she that good?"

Angel turned to him, his face still grim but with a hint of grim satisfaction.

"She is that good!"

Mal nodded.

" Still ….a pretty tough deal for a girl that young!"

The dark haired vampire hesitated a moment.

" You talked to Alice about this……."

" We had a little chat about what it is you do. She said the two of you trained her, I just didn´t think it would look like this!"

Mal motioned towards the bay once again. Spike was on his feet again, trying to block a roundhouse kick Alice was delivering to his head.

He could hear Jayne´s fascinated chuckle from below.

" Look at that preacher, that girl has some moves!"

The mercenary was obviously enjoying himself, mal shook his head in mild amusement.

" So how come that you do that …..you and your friend, training these ….slayers, was it? How did you end up with little miss firecracker down there?"

Angel shrugged. His face had taken on a sombre, guarded look.

" We did not choose her for this, if that´s what you want to know. For a long time there had been no talk of slayer´s at all. We both had our ear to the ground, followed the stories that went around. We went to look if these stories were true……turns out that there were still slayer´s but they didn´t  survive long enough to be of consequence because these girls had no one to guide them, to train them …..somebody needed to do the job!"

Mal pursed his lips.

" And once your …..charge is dead?"

Angel´s face became hard and grim.

" We move on, find the next in line……"

" How do you know where to look?"

Another loud crashing sound came from beneath them. They both paid it no attention.

" We don´t …..but Alice for one was hard to miss! We just ended up following the endless trail of creatures that had tried to kill her and failed. Her father is a captain, much like you. Alice´s calling wasn´t really good for business!"

Mal nodded …he could see the problem.

" How old was she?"

" Fourteen when she became the chosen one, fifteen by the time we caught up with her."

Mal stared at the vampire, then his eyes wandered back to Alice who was blocking a fast combination of punches Spike was throwing at her torso and head. Not a sound escaped her lips.

" Fourteen years old…" Mal repeated, shaking his head. She had still been a child when burdened with that weight. Today she still looked no older than eighteen, give or take a year.

" She´s nineteen." Angel told him as though he had read Mal´s thoughts.

" Doesn´t seem fair to me, lil´girl like that ….all alone against all that doom!"

Angel shrugged. He understood the captain´s thinking, but he had been there before …a million times. He did not have the power to change the workings of the powers that be …….he did not ponder this questions anymore. All it did was depress him ….

" Probably not."

" Why do it then?"  Mal asked flatly. Alice might have explained it to him, which did not mean he had to understand her acceptance of whatever fate the world had dealt her.

" She´s the chosen one…..evil does not care if you want to be the slayer! None of them would choose to be. Evil will find these girls no matter what. It will come after them. And if it finds them it will try to kill them because they are the slayer….."

"Pretty dire perspective if you ask me." He thought of something, looking at Angel intently.

" How long can they keep doing it ……Alice´s predecessor, how long did she travel with you."

Angel turned to watch Alice and Spike again.

" Mariah ……she lasted 8 months… Most of them don´t live to see their eighteenth birthday. No matter how hard we train them, they will die eventually. One day they simply wake up, bruised and battered, and they realize that this is their life. That from the day they were chosen on their life consisted of challenges and fighting and for the first time they understand that it´s never going to change! They will get up each day to fight for their lives and for what?"

" To fight another day….." Mal said quietly.

Angel looked at him, nodding.

" Yes…..that´s all there is. Once they realize that something inside of them breaks…..Mariah just couldn´t take it. She just ….went out, fought back, but ….her heart wasn´t in it. She was seventeen years old …."

Mal took a deep breath.

" Alice lasted longer, when do you think she´s going to realize …"

Angel let out a deep, low laugh. His face had taken on an almost amused, wistful impression.

" Oh , Alice is different. She knows, she knew all along. It almost tore her apart…leaving her family, her life …..but she´s a trooper. Reminds me of someone I knew back on earth that was. She will never just lay down and let them come for her. Oh no …Alice will keep on fighting as long as there is a breath in her body. She´s special…."

" Bloody hell!" They both turned to find that Alice had somehow manoeuvred Spike into a headlock.

" Yeah …real special girl…" Mal added, but he could not suppress a grin.

" That why you tryin´to meet up with this old pal of yours?"

The remark brought another low chuckle from the vampire.

" Lorne …oh yeah. He runs a very interesting establishment on this outpost we are going to."

" Your girl said he gives people guidance, so is he some kind of guru?"

Angel shook his head, smiling.

" Not really….he just helps people find their way."

" Well ain´t that shiny?"

" You in need of some guidance captain?"

Mal laughed good-naturedly.

"You never know ……how does your friend do that?"

" I think you should maybe come with us , cause if I told you …you would not believe me!"   


	5. LOST

DISCLAIMER: Don´t own nothing …….please don´t sue …

NOTES: OH it took me forever …Sorry!!!! Hope this doesn´t suck. It took me some time to figure out where to go with this. I know this chapter is a little dark, but I´m in kind of a dark mood right now …soooo…….

Next one will be better!!!

Oh ..The Lyrics are from " LORD OF THE RINGS, THE TWO TOWERS" …Gollum´s song

LOST 

„ You sure this was such a good idea?"

Jayne asked roughly, nursing his drink in his lap, giving the surrounding customers another weary look. The rest of them exchanged glances. 

Malcolm Reynolds leaned back in his chair, not quite sure what to answer. He had to admit to being more than just a little curious about Angel´s friend and his …establishment, so they had tagged along. Only Simon, River and Book had remained behind.

 But this was more than he could have ever imagined. The customers …or ….creatures that were assembled in the dim lighting, sitting at small tables, some immersed in hushed conversation, some watching others perform on the small stage………

Mal had never seen anything like it and neither had any of his crew. The owner of the bar

 " New Caritas" was a green-skinned, red horned …..guy who talked amicably albeit very fast. Mal had not quite understood all he had been saying, but since they had come with Angel their drinks were on the house …..all night. That and the ensuing curiosity had made everybody want to stay. Angel and Spike were sitting at the bar, in deep conversation with …Lorne, or so the green guy had introduced himself to them.

" Awww …Jayne , C´mon don´t be such a mood spoiler …I think it´s all very interesting and exciting, just look over there…..there´s a guy with four arms!" Kaylee said as Jayne was busy fishing a tiny orange umbrella out of his strangely coloured cocktail.

" Better not be starin´ at anybody  Kaylee …we don´t wanna upset all these nice  folks."

" Yeah …."  Wash said, taking another sip of the drink in front of him.

" Especially since some of these …nice folks …..don´t look all too pleasant. I think  recognize one or two from my childhood nightmares, if you know what I mean."

His wife lifted an eyebrow and smiled.

" Oh….look there´s Alice!" Kaylee giggled, waving to the pretty girl. Alice waved back across the room as she climbed the three steps to the stage. She adjusted the microphone hesitantly. Mal turned to look over to the bar where the conversation had just seized. The two vampires and the red horned demon stared at her in silence.

The rest of the club fell silent too after the first beats of the music rang through the air. Mal wasn´t sure how, but somehow he had known Alice would choose a sad song. 

Where once was light

Now darkness falls

Where once was love 

Love is no more

One would have expected a sweet, mellow singing voice from her; a soft sweet soprano maybe. She didn´t have a typical singing voice, not smooth and clear. Her voice sounded too hoarse, too husky, too opaque and unrefined to belong to an accomplished singer, and still it sounded just right. 

" Ohhh …." Kaylee whispered mesmerized into the silence.

Don´t say goodbye

Don´t say I didn´t try

These tears we cry 

Are falling rain

For all the lies you told us,

The hurt, the blame!

It took Mal a moment to figure out why he thought that her voice really went with the song. It was the hurt …..so raw that you could almost touch it. Her voice could hold it, express it…..hold everything the song was about. He could see the careful expression on Angel´s face, the confusion on Spike´s features as they watched her sway slightly to the song. They had not expected this. They had not expected their little trooper to do this …….

And there was something ……….something wrong with this whole performance that didn´t quite sit right with them.

" I didn´t think you´d have that song in your repertoire, mate!" Spike said to Lorne over his shoulder.

" I don´t…" Lorne said seriously, looking at the two vampires.

And we will weep to be so alone

We are lost we can never go home

"Girls´s got a voice …that´s for sure!" Jayne said quietly, trying to shake the uneasy feeling creeping up his back. A glance at Zoë told Mal that it wasn´t just him, she felt it too. 

" This is …..strange…" 

There was a sadness weighing them down, like the despair and grief of the lyrics was somehow trying to take on physical form, too attach itself to them.

Kaylee moved her hands up her arms as though she was cold.

Mal got up from his seat, walking over to Angel and Spike through the enthralled crowd of monsters and people.

So in the end

I´ll be what I will be

No loyal friend was ever there for me

" What´s going on here?" he asked the dark vampire. His green friend stared at Alice with narrowed eyes. Angel looked around with growing discomfort.

" I don´t know."

" So this is not what happens when your friend does his …thing…..?"

" No…."

It was a subtle, almost inaudible at first………but it made the turn to the stage again. The voice singing was changing ….ever so slowly, smoothing …..Hushed tones turning into clearer ones. 

" What the bloody hell?"

Spike tried to jump up from his chair as though somebody had lit his coat on fire, but Angel  gripped him firmly by the shoulder.

" Spike, don´t….."

" Can you hear it, can you?" he hissed at the taller man with a frantic tone.

" I can ……it´s …..impossible….."

In a matter of seconds Alice´s voice had smoothed out, turned into a clear, light melody. But Mal could see it wasn´t just that. Her eyes were closed as though she was in trance ….not even noticing the things that surrounded her.

Now we say goodbye

We say

You didn´t try

" Something wrong with your girl?" Mal enquired. Whatever was happening, he wanted to make sure his crew was not getting involved in it. They were out of their depths here…shooting, smuggling, stealing were one thing, but demons ……

" That´s not Alice." Angel answered him.

Mal lifted an eyebrow.

" Sure as hell looks like her to me !"

" Well…..whomever your slayer is channelling right now……is pretty pissed of with the two of you and it´s giving me a hellapolouza of a headache!" Lorne informed them, downing the rest of his drink in one swig.

" What do you …."

" Oh …more than I care to Angel-cakes, as I said …really pissed of with the two of you, it´s all a jumble from there on out. I can´t really tell how much of it is Alice, it´s all grief and despair and anger and ….for crying out loud listen to that song……" Lorne interrupted him.

" It´s not her voice." Spike muttered with a look Mal could not place.

These tears you cried

Have come too late

Take back the lies, the hurt, the blame

And you will weep 

When you face the end alone

You are lost

You can never go home

You are lost 

You can never go home

Alice stood on the stage still as a statue, her eyes fixed upon them, staring at them with a face that held both anger and an incredible sadness. She let the microphone fall from her hands.

" We are lost …….I am lost ……." She looked at her hands as though there was something only she could see. She sounded different, Mal realized. Spike had been right, it was not her voice.

" How could you do this to me?" She whispered, but the hushed silence in the club carried her voice far.

" How could you leave me …..so alone………"

" This is not your slayer!" Lorne  told  Angel she came towards them.

She grabbed the lapels of Spike´s coat, shaking him violently.

" How could you do this to me …….." she screamed. But before Angel or Spike could react Alice stopped, shaking her head with a gasp. She blinked, flustered, looking at the men in front of her.

She took a few steps backwards. Something had taken her over …something. She was the slayer, she was always in control! 

" What is this?" She demanded to know. " Who did this …."

" Seems that your little song ….channelled someone who had something to say to our two undead crusaders, sweetheart." Lorne explained light-heartedly, holding out a glass filled with an amber coloured liquid. " Better get a nice sip of that, cause I think you need it."

He turned to Angel again. " And thanks for bringing this to my doorstep again …..we all know how well it worked out for me the last time you decided to bring your preternatural problems into my club!"

" We had no problems before we came here….."

" Yes …just keep telling yourself that, Angelcakes!"

" Someone took me over, someone powerful enough .......someone familiar ….." Alice returned the empty glass to Lorne. The way Angel and Spike looked at her, still shaken made her look at them more closely.

" You know …" she said slowly. " You know …..you recognized that voice!" 


	6. What is now

 DISCLAIMER: all belongs to Joss …I only borrow

NOTES: Sorry!! Am so busy with studying that I don´t get anything done!!!!

Thank you for your kind reviews!!!!!

WHAT IS NOW:………

„ Alice…" Angel tried to say in a calming voice, reaching out to touch her shoulder, but the 

young slayer brushed him of with an impatient gesture.

" No …..you know something. Tell me what just happened."

" We don´t really know…"  he said. Even Mal could tell that he was lying. Behind them Lorne rolled his eyes, downing another drink to battle the headache.

Alice´s eyes flickered to Spike who avoided her gaze.

" You both know …or at least you have an idea…….tell me!"

" Alice…."

She shook her head, angrily.

" If you can´t tell me the truth then I can´t even look at you right now!" She hissed at him, storming out of the club.

" Lost….." Alice looked up to find River standing in the doorway. The young girl tilted her head sideways, her intense dark eyes never leaving the slayer. Alice sat huddled in a chair in the kitchen, trying to shake the scary feeling of not being in control of her own actions. She felt betrayed by her companions and it made her sad.

" What?"

River looked over her shoulder as if to ensure that they were alone before she tiptoed over to Alice, crouching down next to her. Alice gazed into her eyes, there was intelligence there and so much more ……a knowledge. River leaned into her almost like a child that meant to share a secret of utmost importance.Gingerly she put her hands around Alice´s face, drawing a shuddering breath.

" You are not alone …" she whispered eerily.

" Not alone …..in there…….in the dark….." She squeezed her eyes shut, withdrawing her hands with a gasp. Alice grabbed her wrists, holding onto to them so that River was still close. 

" You know who took me over? …..You can see ……what did you see?"

River gazed into the young woman´s eyes with a dreamy expression on her face, her voice was husky, barely above a whisper.

" The one, the first ……and the last. The one who gave her life and yet lived. She gave  her power to you  …all of you, like they brought it upon the first ……but they are no more, they are shadow and dust. It was all for nothing …… and now she is lost."

Alice shook her head. " I don´t understand ….….."

" She cannot rest……..not at peace, she can never be…….so alone, so lost……I cannot see her in the dark, but you are like a spark, a candle in the window of this world. You are like a beacon leading her ….home, like a fire in the deepest night. She wants to huddle around that fire ….just like the two others do." 

There were steps on the metal. It was Simon looking for his sister, behind him Alice could see Mal, Spike and Angel who had followed her back  to the ship. 

Alice stared at the other girl with wide eyes. Mal turned his head to Angel and Spike standing in the doorway, taking the whole scurrility of the scene in. Angel´s face was hidden in the darkness of the corridor while Spike´s blue eyes shone in the harsh lighting. River turned her face to them very slowly, her eyes roaming over them for a moment. 

" There is so much pain in this room …makes me dizzy. She´s not whole….anymore. Just like your two men are not whole ………………both longing, both missing ……one stumbling around in the dark. He lost his eyes……she closed her eyes so long ago and ….the other longing for what he never called his…. "

" Explain to me……" Alice begged.

" Let it go Alice!" Angel told her in a very clipped voice, his face still hidden.

" NO!" She said, shaking her head. " You both seem to know, you seem to have at least an inkling of what is going on here, but whatever it was took over my body! I deserve to know!"

Simon was about to gather his sister up from the floor when River suddenly leaned forward again, bringing her face very close to Alice to whisper into her ear with a sing song voice.

 "There has always been the one to stand against the tide ……..one like you, from ancient first to her and countless others, now you are all that is left. You are all that is left."

" Please ….I need to understand!" Alice returned, searching River´s face. 

" She borrowed from you …….now she borrows from me, she has no speech ……and her name means nothing and everything, she needs  someone to speak for her." She was still whispering in hushed tones, but her raw voice carried far in the muted silence, her eyes fluttered.

" Who is she?" Alice asked, a cold knot settling deep in her stomach, clenching violently enough to make her cry out.

" There is a new world, a new desert and the trees grew back while she was sleeping, so very lost ……they made her numb, mute…made her wither and die,…made her sleep on the bed of her own bones. " River´s hands closed around Alice´s in a painful grip. She took a seething breath.

" She´s you …….she´s the sister, the daughter, the friend, the lover. She is the source ….the first and the last before so many came……..she is the slayer and she needs to walk this world again."

" Buffy…." It was just one word, Spike merely breathed it and yet it rang in the air like a shot.

Alice turned to look at the blond vampire, eyes bright blue like the heart of a flame, his face raw with pain.


	7. From Shadow

DISCLAIMER: Don´t own, please don´t sue

Notes: I realize this is not my brightest hour…so much groundwork to lay before the next chapter! So please forgive me and bear with me! Next chaper will be much better! I promise!

FROM SHADOW

„ Buffy:" The word hung in the air like thunder. It was as though time had stopped for an instant as everybody stood there in overwhelming quiet.

Mal arched an eyebrow, clearing his throat at the uncomfortable silence. Of all the times he´d ever been in a tight spot, this was the first time that Malcolm Reynolds really contemplated the concept of being in over his head.

"Now …..everybody just hold on for a minute…." He said, watching the doctor trying to gather his sister up from the floor. River didn´t seem to care much for that. She shook her brother off as though he was nothing more than a nasty mosquito, remaining in her crouch in front of Alice. Angel had turned to glare at Spike while Alice´s angry gaze was wandering between the two vampires.

" …last time I heard, this girl was supposed to be dead, right?"

"Right." Angel ground out.

"So …how is this workin´?"

It's not!"

"In our world, death is not the end." Spike ground out between his teeth.

"You said that to me once, remember?

"Spike, this is not the time!"

"The hell it is!" Alice hissed at him, standing up in one smooth motion. She held her hand out to River without taking her eyes from the two vampires. River attentively took it and let the other girl pull her to her feet. The slayer wasn´t much taller than Simon´s dainty sister. Standing next to each other they both looked frail, vulnerable, so small and very, very young.

Still; Mal had seen what Alice could do and her actions belied the deceiving frailty of her body. There were moments when he was certain that one day, River might also turn out to be more of a surprise than any of them might be able to handle.

"There will be no more secrets." Alice said coldly. "You tell me , you will tell me now or I will walk away from this and find out myself! I am not a child, I am the slayer! So was she ….you both loved her and for whatever reason she is obviously not done with you yet!"

"It was a long time ago, Alice. Things were different then." Angel told her quietly.

"What did you mean…….when you said that death is not the end?"

"We´ve seen things in our time."

"People…..coming back from the dead?" Simon asked wearily.

"Not like that."

"Not like vampires either…" Spike cut in. "There are more levels to death, to heaven and hell ……rules can be broken."

"Buffy is long gone. She had her life. Her bones have turned to dust on earth that was long before we ever met you." Angel said to Alice with a note of anguish in his dark voice.

"Then why is it that she took me over? If she is gone as you say …if she has moved on, what does she want with me?" The slayer shook her head, long auburn curls shifting over her back like waves.

"This girl …..she saw it. She told me!"

" My sister is ….crazy. She is not herself, most of the time I don´t even know what she says!" Simon interjected carefully. Alice could hear the sadness and fatigue in his words.

"I wouldn´t say that."

Mal turned his head to find the green, red- horned demon standing in the corridor. He leaned against the wall, his shoulders hunched.

"Your sister is probably the sanest person I have ever met. She sees things more clearly than any of us and she speaks only truth. She is just ….overwhelmed with what she perceives."

"She was traumatized…."

"Call it what you will…." Lorne returned with a shrug, his gaze shifting towards Angel.

"I can´t believe that after all these centuries you would drag me into this!"

"Oh ….C'mon Lorne! This is hardly my fault. I didn´t know this was going to happen!"

"More pressing point is what do we do about it?" Spike asked, with a glance at the still furious slayer.

"Lorne?"

The demon rolled his eyes elicited an angry snort.

"When did I become the go to guy for this kind of stuff?"

Both vampires gave him impatient, ironic looks.

"If there is a way you can help….. Please tell me…." Alice pleaded softly.

"Well, pumpkin …I might know of someone who might be of assistance." Lorne sighed heavily. "I have never met this …person myself. I don´t really know her and truth be told I never planned to, but she might be able to help you muddle through all this."

"How do we find her?"

The demon pursed his lips.

"I had a few patrons who talked about her quite a lot, but …and I cannot stress this enough, I did not plan on meeting her …ever!"

"Who?" Spike asked impatiently.

"Well, this is going to sound a bit melodramatic, but…."

"Out with it!" Angel growled finally.

Lorne gave Alice a tired smile and shrugged.

" Her name is Shae….."

" Now that doesn´t sound very dramatic!" Mal opined.

" The betrayed, the shadow queen …, the enchantress, the spell weaver…..the witch-queen of Emmen Roth."

"Oh ….." Mal narrowed his eyes. "Emmen Roth? I heard of that place."

"Can you take us there, to that planet?"

Serenity´s captain pursed his lips. " It´s not a planet. It was a third or fourth moon..once ….now it´s just bits and pieces. Not much more than an asteroid field. Alliance blew the damn system apart during the war with weapons tests, there´s not much left."

"Can you take us there? Money will not be a problem."

"Oh …that won´t be the problem, lil´lady."

"Then what will?"

"Nobody goes there…..blast threw the whole thing outta orbit. There is no sun, no light …..and of course the story that that whole region is …..well, guess you people have heard and seen stranger things, judging from my limited experience….."

"Bloody place is haunted, isn´t it?"

"That's what they say."


	8. Conundrum

DISCLAIMER: Like y´all don´t know I don´t own any this!!

NOTES: Thanks for the kind feedback! Sorry it took me a while to update this……!

Check out the great work of Neroli, Cassie and Jebbypal, who work so hard for all of us to have a shiny message-board and Fanfic- Awards!!!

I also deeply alologize for any mistakes, grammar or spelling that slip by me! As I mentioned before I am not a native speaker, merely someone who studies English history and literature! I do my best, but …alas …I´m not perfect! So bear with me, please!

CONUNDRUM

„ Thought you didn´t believe in ghosts, Sir!" Zoë said, looking at her captain with one raised eyebrow.

Mal shrugged. "I don´t. But then again ….I didn´t believe in vampires either."

"Ghosts or not, I sure as hell don´t like this place. There´s a reason why this place is shunned even by alliance ships." Jayne growled.

" Sure looks gloomy." Wash added. They all stood behind his pilot chair, staring out into the blackness, at the asteroid field that occupied the space that had once held a whole star system.

The mercenary scratched his head.

"How come I never heard of this weapon?"

"Because it didn´t quite work the way our friendly alliance had planned…." Mal answered grimly.

"Looks like a gorram´ piece of work to me!" Jayne returned, gesturing towards the debris.

Zoë gave him an annoyed look, rolling her eyes.

" This isn´t quite the outcome the alliance had in mind when they tested the weapon, Jayne."

"Worked well enough in theory, but the damn thing blew up right under their noses. Took two alliance cruisers and the whole uninhabited system with it when it went awry."

Mal explained with a grim smile.

"I very much doubt that anybody lives here, captain."

Mal exchanged a glance with his pilot.

" I sure as hell wouldn´t like to call this home, but then again …we got paid. If they don´t find what they came here for, it ain´t our problem now. You got the coordinates the green guy gave ya´ …..try to manoeuvre us around the debris as far as you can without ruining our paint job. We´ll take the shuttle the rest of the way."

"But aren´t you scared?" Kaylee aked, pulling her jacket tighter around her shoulders as she watched Alive lacing up her brown boots. The leather was worn out, but still in good condition.

" I mean …´bout that witch thing. Doesn´t that worry you a little, going out there to look for her."

The slayer pushed her auburn curls over one shoulder, her long fingers working quickly to braid the mass of hair neatly together before she tied it with a black cord.

"A little ..maybe." she answered quietly. Then she shrugged, pulling her coat over her shoulders.

" After a while you just get used to it I guess." She couldn´t help but smile at the other girl. She had come to like Kaylee even if they didn´t know each other very well. The mechanic had something about her …something …that reminded Alice of good, healthy things like blooming apple trees and sun.

" In fact a lot of them are all talk, you know…..and every beastie has a bigger reputation than the last one, claims to be more evil than everyone else. They´re all soooooo very bad and so evil ….them with all their oh- so fiendish plans." Alice said mockingly.

Kayle furrowed her brow, unable to stop a giggle.

" You serious?"

" It´s true! Sometimes I think they´re all into being evil for the speechmaking and the banter. Come to think of it ….kinda like Angel and Spike!"

"I can´t let you come with us Captain!" Angel said with a sigh, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Malcolm Reynolds leaned against the shuttle door, giving Jayne a nod. The mercenary crossed his arms too, mimicking the vampire´s stance and position with a steely gaze.

"Oh I think, you´ll want me to come along, paid me for it in fact!"

"Frankly, it´s none of your business, mate!" Spike cut in, looking up to Jayne.

"Since you´ll be taking my shuttle it kinda is my business, folks. We´ll get you where you want to go. The darn rock is nicely positioned in the middle of all that gorram´ debris. My pilot says it´s probably the biggest piece that´s left of that moon, even has a little atmosphere left from the looks of it."

"I can´t let you come with us, this is not your world. It is ours and you don´t want to be dragged into this. Believe me." Angel told him sternly.

Now ain´t that shiny?" Mal returned, arching one brow ironically.

"Little late for that, my friend. Got us wrapped up in this nice and neat. Now if you think I´ll let you take my shuttle you´re dead wrong. Cause I want it back in one piece and I really don´t think any of you can pilot that thing."

"He can come." Alice said, her gaze wandering from one man to the other as she turned around the corner.

"Aw…C´mon love…"

"Alice!" Angel hissed warningly. The girl rolled her eyes at him.

"He´s right, Angel……none of us can fly that thing!"

The air was stale. There was no other word for it. It felt thick and heavy, as though they were standing in a crypt that had been sealed for a very long time. Mal didn´t like where they were standing: In front of the entrance of a giant cave. The inside was completely dark, the only thing visible was a torch, burning in the sand next to the entrance.

Jayne´s face took on an even grimmer expression. One didn´t need to be a genius to see that the mercenary didn´t like all this one bit.

"You might want to wait at the shuttle." Angel told the two men who had accompanied them, but Jayne shot him a withering look. The mercenary´s lip curled upwards in an expression that came close to a disgusted snarl.

"Do we look like gorram´ cowards to you?"

Spike shrugged, picking up the torch from where it stuck in the sand.

"Suit yourself, mate."

The cave was wide and lead into another cavern, which led them deeper and deeper into the darkness of the mountain until the only audible sounds were the echoes of their steps and water dripping from the roof of the cavern.

"Don´t think anything would choose to live here." Mal opined.

Alice, who was walking next to him, looked up, smiling slightly.

"You´d be surprised, Captain Reynolds …I´ve seen a lot weirder things in my life."

Mal didn´t doubt her for a second. And yet he couldn´t help but think that maybe she shouldn´t have seen all those terrible things. She was so young, so much like Kaylee.

"Seen things like this, ya ´mean?"

Jayne asked, turning around to glare at her.

There were more torches, but the overall lighting was dim none the less. Alice exchanged a quick look with Angel, before she carefully touched Mal´s arm.

"You two stay here…please?"

She bridged the distance between herself and her two vampire companions in a split second.

"Whatcha´ make of that?" Jayne whispered at Mal as they stared at three very big wildcats, lounging around on the sandy floor of the cavern, staring at them with blazing, amber eyes.

"I think for once, we´d do as she asks and let them handle this." Mal whispered back.

Two of the cats were sand coloured with big black dots, their lithe bodies relaxed but they still seemed ready to jump at them at a whim. The third one was all black and a little sturdier than the other two. The panther sat up and hissed at them.

Alice stared at the three cats, more fascinated than terrified.

"I´ve never seen real ones before.Only in books or on pictures on the cortex. These are real." She said breathlessly.

"Yes …aren´t they beautiful?" The question came from the everywhere around them, like an echo.

" Shae…" Angel yelled back. "We have come to see the enchantress of Emmen Roth."

"I have been waiting for you." She said from somewhere in the deeper parts of the cavern. Mal was not sure what kind of voice he had expected from someone who was said to be a witch queen. But the voice that reached his ears now, echoing of the high walls of the cave was a husky one. The sound of it was raw enough to hurt his ears. It sounded broken and forced as though the one who used it had just learned how to speak.

"Much longer than we anticipated in fact….." The woman that stepped into the flickering light of the torches was tall, not tall enough to look Jayne straight in the eye, but taller than both vampires. She walked towards them in a slow, even pace, her head high and her back straight.

Shae, the shadow-queen, had a tall, willowy figure. Her long hair fell straight to her hips like a silky, brown cape,the face it framed was pretty and ageless. She could have passed for an old 18 years but just as well for a young 30, Mal wasn´t sure what would have made him more comfortable. Her long dress was a few shades darker than her hair, velvet with a high collar and wide sleeves that almost touched the floor.

"We?" Angel asked carefully, trying to keep an eye on her cats while she came towards them.

"There were three of us once. Time grew long, too long it seems." She sighed, looking at them all for a moment, one after the other.

"Now I speak and the only voice I hear is my own. I miss Meyalleleth´s languorous hum and Kaliopee´s enchanting lilt. There were three of us, now I am alone."

"Your sisters…" Angel whispered.

"Three daughter´s my mother brought into this world. We spoke truths and whispered secrets and yet the world never knew us by our name. We had so many."

Alice took a step forward.

"A friend said you might help me …us with something."

The witch- queen laughed at that. It was a bitter sound, almost palpable.

"You only think they change….people, but no matter where you set your foot; Delphi, Rome, Gaul, Brittany ….here…..some things never change. You still come …seeking wisdom."

"We travelled far." Alice said flatly. Shae returned her stare, her face betraying nothing.

"I know you did. I know why you came. "

She looked at the two vampires that stood framing the slayer and folded her hands I front of her dress.

"There is a spirit ……a slayer of old. I can feel her grasp on you like fog rising from the depths around you. She is angry with your two men."

"So you can do something about all this mess or areyou just gonna stand there and talk?" Spike asked her angrily.

Shae lifted one hand, the simple movement shoved Spike off his feet.

"I will tolerate only so much disrespect, vampire!" She said austerely, ignoring the furious glare he gave her as he stood up.

"Is there something you can do to help us, please." Alice asked quietly.

"Like what?"

"Can you summon her, something like that…so she can say what she wants from me?"

"I cannot give her a voice, no."

"What she and - I think we all- really want to know is……. Can you bring her back?" Angel asked, his voice very low. Both Spike and Alice looked at him in shock.

"She died a very long time ago." Shae clarified her eyes boring into him.

"Yes, we know."

" Don´t think I like that idea……" Jayne hissed at Mal.

"I think I know what you mean." Serenity´s captain returned, chewing his bottom lip.

"Is that why you came?"

"Yes."

"No!"." Alice gasped

Shae turned her back on them walking back into the darkness she had emerged from only moments ago. With a speed and agility too fast for Mal to follow, Angel jumped after her, grabbing her wrist to forcefully fling her around to face him.

"Can you?" he hissed at her.

The shadow queen stared back into his eyes which had turned to a bright yellow as the vampire´s game face had emerged in the heat of his anger.

" No .." she finally said in her soft, velvety voice. "There is no way to change that. You don´t conquer death. You don´t fight time."

"What is it that you do then?" Angel ground out, increasing the pressure to her delicate wrist. She returned his intent gaze for a moment with her dark eyes. She gave the vampire an ominous smile, wringing her wrist from his grasp without the slightest effort.

"You cheat." The witch-queen answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the universe.

Angel let her step away from him, his features returning to normal. Alice still looked at him in pure shock, while Spike furrowed his brow, remembering something.

"You said you have been waiting for us."

"The reason the two of you are here…" she continued moving away from Angel towards Spike, "…. with the slayer asking me – of all people- for help is time. Things went wrong and the more time passed the worse things have become."

"Don´t think I follow you there, love." Spike uttered, keeping his eyes on her wearily. Shae just shrugged, moving on to circle Alice.

"I did not think you would."

"What do you mean …..things went wrong?" The slayer demanded to know, turning her head with Shae´s movements as the witch scrutinized her with glittering eyes. After a moment her gaze returned to Angel, searching his face as though she was contemplating different options.

"You ….." she finally whispered, turning back to Alice.

"You shouldn´t be here."

"We came a very far way to find answers. I´m not leaving until…."

"I did not say you should not have come here." The witch-queen interrupted her before she walked away from that into the darker part of the cavern.

The big cats followed her without a sound, their tailss twitching nervously.

"I said you should not be here. Things went wrong and now you are, but that doesn´t change the facts."

"I don´t understand."

The witch-queen stopped, turned around to look at the slayer once more as she petted one of the jaguars. "People make mistakes. They are prone to,.it is human. But sometimes these mistakes are like waves in a silent pond, too big to be ignored. Free will is a tricky thing, no matter what the powers intend and sometimes these …human errors reshape the grand design. Sometimes the shift is too ….severe to be corrected in time. In cases such as these the events cannot be altered and things go wrong."

Jayne frowned, leaning over to Mal.

"And I thought the doctor´s sister talked in ruttin´ riddles. But the girl makes this broad look downright sane. She sure could give River a run for her money!"

It was hard to tell if the witch had heard the mercenary´s whispered comment, but she smiled.

"Think of the fates. Once people believed that they spun your whole life like yarn ……weaving all lives together into an intricate design, a gobelin made of millions of destinies. One thread could hardly ruin the whole design, but several knotted to each other might spoil the outcome."

"Is that what happened?" Alice asked carefully.

" Yes….."

"And I am part of this….mess up?"

"Not really."

"For god´s sake woman……will you just stop hinting?" Spike exploded.

The witch looked at him for a moment with a blank and yet impatient expression, without stopping to pet the wild cats the purred at her feet.

"The reason you are not part of this …mess up, as you call it is quite obvious, Slayer. If things had not gone wrong and marred the grand design……..you would not exist."


	9. Riddles

DISCLAIMER: they all belong to Joss, I just take them out to play!

NOTES: Well as I said, I´m busy wrestling with my muse for input, so please be kind . I´m aware that this is not me at my best, but I needed to keep up with the updates. Next will be better ...I promise!!!

**RIDDLES**

"Didn't see that one coming." Jayne whispered under his breath as the silence became pressing. Malcolm Reynolds could see the mercenary's hand coming to rest on the butt of his gun. He caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and shook his head just enough to signal Jayne to settle down. He couldn't blame him for getting all twitchy; the tension in the cavern was thick enough to cut with a knife. Whatever the witch was aiming for, her words had struck a cord.

He could see the looks passing between Angel and Spike, while Alice just stared at Shae, as though the witch- queen had her hypnotized.

"Alright….I think you pulled our leg here long enough…." Spike finally spat out.

"Spike ..don't…." Alice cut in, her voice soft and confused. She took another tentative step towards the taller woman. "I asked her. I wanted to know."

The slayer took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to keep her composure, but the answer had obviously shaken her. Not that Mal could blame her. He wouldn't like hearing that he was not supposed to exist either.

Alice's voice was shaky when she started talking again.

"I would not be …alive if things had gone right, is that what you are saying?"

Shae crossed her arms in front of her chest gracefully. A move perfected by time, Mal thought. The witch-queen had managed to perform it without disturbing the perfect flow of the cloth that trailed down from the arms of her dress and unto the floor. He´d seen it before with Inara; like the companion the witch-queen knew all about the effects of grace und poise.

The silence grew heavier still.

" I don't know." Shae finally answered.

" Oh come on!" Spike yelled at her.

Her eyes swept over to him, narrowing slightly.

"I will not lie to you, not for her sake , not for yours. All I know is that she would not exist in her current form. If there had been no ripple, she would not exist as the slayer this day. That does not mean she will not exist in another form and it does not mean that she might have never been born."

Her gaze returned to Alice and Mal was surprised to hear that her voice softened. It was as though she was talking to the slayer alone.

"The spirit that clings to you will not disappear. It will cling to you and them until the day you die or until all wrongs are made right."

One of the big cats growled at Mal as it slowly paced in their direction.

"Why can´t things ever go smooth?" he mumbled under his breath.

"Ya ´ didn't really think this was gonna go smoothly…. with all the weird hocus-pocus stuff goin´ on, did ´ya?"

Mal rolled his eyes at the mercenary, suddenly feeling very good about the fact that they were standing wit their backs against the wall. No surprises coming from that end at least.

"Truth be told, I didn´t believe any of it, not even sure I do now!"

There were the first stirrings of anger mixing with the confusion in Alice's face now. From the look Jayne shot him, Mal could tell that the merc had seen them too. The slayer´s face, for one, was much easier to read than Angel's stony expression.

" How?" Alice shook her head, laughing bitterly.

"How am I supposed to make things right? It's done, it has happened hundreds of years ago, you said so yourself! And you said you cannot bring her back …."

"You have come for answers. I cannot change the truth into lies, because you do not like the answers you sought."

The leopard at her feet sat up, rubbing his head against her legs. The witch – queen knelt down to tickle the beast´s chin, her dark, glittering eyes never leaving Alice.

"I can tell you that this spirit, this slayer will not let go. She will hold on to you. She will not be denied….."

"You said you've been waiting for us." Angel finally said, his voice low and controlled. Shae looked up at him.

"Yes."

"Think we covered that already, mate…..can we get back to the part where…."

Spike shot the dark vampire an impatient glare, but expression on his comrade's face quieted him.

"We've been asking the wrong questions." Angel said after a while, sounding exasperated.

A lazy smile crept to Shae´s features, it made her seem younger, almost girlish. The sight brought goose bumps to Mal´s arms. It made her seem more human, but it was not a pretty sight. The more human she seemed to look, the more apparent it became that he and Jayne were the only humans in the cavern.

"I don't understand." Alice admitted, her puzzled expression mirroring Spike.

"She said she's been waiting for us for a long time….." The vampire seemed to ponder this for a moment, then he stepped forward to look directly into the witch- queen´s eyes.

"You will not lie to us."

"Truth." Shae whispered, leaning in as though to kiss him. Angel did not flinch, their faces only inches apart.

"You were supposed to be here. You are part of this, you have your own part to play."

"Truth" her voice was a mere whisper.

"How can I make things right?" Alice asked her breathlessly.

Slowly, Shae turned her face to look at the slayer.

" You can't."

"Why? What does she want with me then?"

"She needed your voice."

"What can I do?"

"Nothing…."

"Then why ….."

"It's us." Spike interrupted her quietly. "It's not you she wants. It's us ….peaches and me."

Shae stepped back from Angel, backing up slowly and clapped her hands.

"Why didn´t you tell us from the moment we walked in here?"

"It was not my place. You asked the wrong questions."

"What is you bloody place then? You bloody use?"

Her smile vanished as though somebody had just wiped it off her face. Her hand lashed out and brought Spike to his knees without even touching him.

" Don't forget yourself vampire!" she warned him. " You may not need to breathe, but …."

"What is your use? If you don't mind me askin´, cause I and my friend here, sure would like to know." Mal asked her loudly. All heads turned to him in surprise. They had almost forgotten about him and Jayne.

Shae walked towards them in long, graceful strides, the cats trailing closely behind her.

She looked Mal up and down. From up close the witch- queen was an uncanny, yet striking sight. Her hair shimmered in the dancing light of the torches like polished wood. The same light bounced off her flawless skin, giving it a warm, golden glow. She was beautiful, but at the same time her beauty had some dark, threatening undercurrent. There was power in that seemingly delicate, willowy body, the likes of which he had never seen. Mal was entirely sure that it was also something he would not want unleashed on him or his crew.

"You won't need your gun." She told Jayne without glancing his way. "Bullets cannot kill me."

"Well ain´t that a comfort." Mal quipped. Shae smiled at him.

"What about knives?" Jayne asked uncomfortably. The witch turned to look at him, truly surprised. Then she threw her head back and laughed. It was a warm, chortling sound that filled the cave and echoed of the walls. Her reaction took everyone by surprise.

"Do not worry mercenary, I am no danger to you or the good captain. You asked me a question and because you amused me immensely, I shall answer. My use is my power, they need it to put things back on the right path. But they have been asking the wrong questions."

"You said you could not bring her back to confront them …"

Shae turned around to face Alice and the two vampires again.

"Not exactly…"

"But you said …"

"She said she could not bring Buffy back from the dead." Spike interrupted Alice, scowling at Angel.

"You said one does not beat death."

"Truth."

"Cheating….." Angel whispered, nodding to her. "You are here to help us cheat?"

"I am here to cheat time, as I said. You cannot beat death at his own game, that is true. However… you can cheat time and that is what I am here for. Things need to be set right….."

"In the past?" Alice asked her, eyebrows knitting together. "Is that what you mean?"

"Yes." The witch- queen nodded slightly, looking at the slayer.

"Things like what ? Angel asked her suspiciously.

"Where were you, when the walls of this world fell?" Shae threw the words back at him like a challenge. She strode away from all of them, giving them her back.

"Where were you, vampires? It was you who tipped the scales, but you took the wrong steps, the wrong positions…..made the wrong choices."

"Oh, right …so this is all our fault now?"

Shae´s laughter was bitter, her voice filled with heat. "As matter of fact …yes."

"Saving the world a couple of times was not enough then, ha?"

A wave of heat filled the cave, fire roaring to life in a pit right next to where the witch- queen was standing. She stood next to the rising flames unfazed.

"This could be a ploy, a trick …..how can we trust you?" Angel asked her harshly.

"I am not a pawn in this game of thrones." She laughed at him.

Angel shook his head. "No, you are a player…..I just don´t know which side you are on!"

"Haven't you sacrificed enough in your war, your conflict with ….them? The wolf, the ram, the hart? You could have won, but you lost the game before it started. You lost your eyes…the one who spoke the truth. With her by your side …."

" Cordelia. I will not discuss her with you!"

"One of the things, that has to be rectify." Shae whispered impatiently .

"That you can set right. For the other ….some things cannot be unmade. I cannot return to you, what you signed away so freely. That part of your destiny cannot be altered. It is somebody else´s part to play now."

Angel stared at her in shock, but Shae´s eyes wanderer over to Spike.

"And you …..the power of the slayer cannot be splintered all over the world. Ultimately it has weakened the gift, the calling. You know all the secrets now. Find another way to fight the darkness…. I will bring her here and you will have three hours to tell her how things will have to happen, to persuade her, so she can ensure that it will go right."

"How ?"

"I can open a portal, if I pull one slayer through the gate….another has to take her place for that amount of time."

"We will not endanger Alice for this…."

"I´ll do it." The slayer interrupted Angel angrily. "This is my choice, my part ……I will do it."

"You do not know what might happen Alice!"

"I want to do it Angel!"

"Ahh ….fellows, hate to interrupt y´all there, but since we´re talking about changing the future here, I think we should have a say in this!" Mal interrupted seriously.

Shae´s eyes seemed to soften for a second, as she looked over to Mal, almost as though she felt sorry for him.

"This will not influence your future or the life of your crew, captain. It is of no consequence to you and them." Her voice was warm, filled with something close to regret.

Mal returned her look and it occurred to him that her kind of knowledge or wisdom, even if it came with all that power, might be a very heavy burden for one person alone to carry.

Next to him, Jayne still flexed his hand above his holster.

"Ya believe her? She´s a witch after all….Don´t wanna end up bein´ a dung-beetle after all this is over!"

Mal shrugged, leaning back against the wall. " Right now, I think we needn't be the ones worryin´ about that."


	10. FURY

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss …except Shae ….

NOTES: Well, it´s getting weird…but Buffy WILL turn up next chapter, I just had to get all this talk out of the way. SORRY!

FURY

Spike swallowed hard, staring at Shae in doubt.

"Buffy …..you can bring Buffy here?" The meaning of this fact had finally started to really sink in and there was a look of raw emotion on his face that was beyond anything Mal had ever seen.

"At what price? I will not sacrifice Alice for this…"

"That will not be necessary, but there has to be a sacrifice of some kind. Everything comes at a price, vampire and you know it."

"What does she mean?" Jayne whispered suspiciously, scanning the cave with narrowed eyes. Except for their passengers, there were only him, Mal and those ruttin´ big cats around. And from what the mercenary could gather ….when it came to a suitable sacrifice, the witch-queen wouldn't have a hard time choosin´ between them and their pussy-cats.

"Don't really think she'd be talking about us, Jayne!" Mal hissed at him, putting a hand on the other man's arm to make him lower the gun he had been raising unconsciously.

Shae shot him an appraising smile that managed to be tempting and reassuring at the same time. "Indeed, Captain …you two have nothing I might require …at this time." She said, turning her attention back to the vampires.

"What do you want?" Angel took a step forward, unclenching the hands he had balled to fists without even noticing.

"I call upon a primal force to do my bidding, it wants to be fed: I cannot break the rules, I bend them to my way. And you didn't even bring a vessel. There are only two possible ways to invoke magic powerful enough for what you wish me to do; sex and blood. Since I gather the first is not an option, the latter will have to suffice."

"What?"

"Will you start making sense woman?"

"You can rearrange the order of things, by changing the way things have come to pass……by telling her. For everything that passes through something else must be returned."

"Yes…we pretty much covered that, now what is it that you want?" Spike asked her impatiently.

Mal could not say how or where she got it from, but suddenly the witch queen was holding a golden chalice in her hand.

"I need something of the Slayer…your Slayer ….and something of the both of you."

"She wants blood, Spike." Angel said in a very controlled manner.

Shae cocked her head to the side, her eyes raking up and down the dark vampire's body and there was something in her eyes that was completely inhuman: Hunger. Not the hunger for food, but for something else, something more raw and primal; the lust for flesh and blood.

"You tasted her." Shae remarked, her voice dropping to a low, husky contralto. "No matter how long ago, a part of her is still running through your veins. Her blood….yours …his ….is a most potent mixture, powerful enough to throw open the gates of time." Angel watched Shae as she stepped back from him, holding out the goblet with a challenging smile.

When Angel made no attempt to move, but continued to try to stare Shae down, Alice stepped up, taking the gold chalice from the witch's hand.

"Angel …" she said softly." Is a little blood too much to ask, for your peace of mind …for mine?"

"Got us hook, line and sinker , pet, and she knows it too." Spike answered for him.

"Bloody wench knows that we'd both cut out our hearts with our own hands just to see Buffy again."

"That's not it…." Angel scoffed, shaking his head. His eyes followed the witch-queen as she walked over to the roaring fire. He looked at her as though he had never seen her before.

"Sisters……they were three once, she said it! How could we be so stupid!" he ground out, before walking over to her in determined strides.

"Which one are you? Murder, Jealousy?" he demanded to know.

"What the hell is he talking about now?" Alice yelled, the fed up look on her pretty face spoke volumes. Mal sympathized with the girl's frustration. Apparently the young slayer was just as much in the dark about some of the bizarre circumstances as him and Jayne.

"Aw …bloody hell, no! Here? " Spike cursed, "Not one of your transcending hussies, mate!"

Angel shook his head with an ironic smirk. "Oh no, this one is the real deal!"

"Talk to me now, or I'm starting to get violent!" Alice demanded, her hands propped up on her hips.

"She's a fury..." Angel growled, "Aren't you? You've been playing us all along!"

The witch- queen folded her hands in front of her body, meeting the vampire's angry gaze with a malicious smile. But when she spoke her voice was grave and her tone tinged with something close to sadness.

"Do not delude yourself, vampire, by thinking that this age or yours are more civilized than mine. The reason me and mine could never be reduced to a pawn in whoever fancied playing the game, is that we stood apart. We were not part of this battle when it began. We chose to get involved. We have always been there, since the dawn of time; in your dreams, your fears ….your guilt. The Greeks merely gave us substance. Their myth gave us form; a body, a face and a purpose."

"Vengeance…" Angel whispered.

"Justice, that is not the same thing!" she returned calmly.

"No it's not!" The tall vampire answered, his face torn between anger and impatience.

"But what you did ….some would rather call it vengeance…."

"You …would? We right the wrongs, thatis what we always did. That is what I am trying to do now. It has been my calling long before it ever became yours! We dealt out justice to those who would otherwise escape it. Call it what you want. My sisters are gone, as are those times. As time has changed so have we. It has been a long time since blood flowed from my eyes and I had wings to fly, vampire."

"If you were indeed so just …Allecto….why did you never come after me?"

"What makes you think we did not……. Angelus?"


End file.
